Under the Same Sun
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, DAY FIVE HUNDRED: The day has come, and Quinn is ready to tell Rachel the truth about her baby.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 23rd cycle. Now cycle 24!_

**IT'S DAY 500!  
**_It kind of gives me shivers whenever I write it, it's just... woah ;)  
I've said it before, I'll say it again, I could not have made it here without you guys! *mwah!*  
As a thanks to this awesomeness, I thought it might help to have all the titles of Sunshine Girls stories together :)  
(this summer I'll have some things going, to help with all that, so this is a quick advance on that :D Will do the same  
for Sylvesters in a couple days!)_

**_THE ALL-MIGHTY SUNSHINE GIRLS SERIES  
_**_1. Divergence | 2. Sunshine | 3. Beams & Rays | 4. Solar Eclipse | 5. Let the Sunshine In  
6. Sunrise, Sunset | 7. Dawn | 8. Ain't No Sunshine | 9. If the Sun is Shining... + 10. ... We Must be All-Mighty  
11. The Shine in Sunshine [7 chapters] | 12. Here Comes the Sun | 13. If the Ladies Would Kindly Shine  
14. The Sun Hides Behind the Mountain | 15. Sunny in Shards | 16. Swear On Sunshine | The Far-Reaching Sun  
17. Sunshine Girls All in a Row | 18. It's Only Sunshine | 19. 'Til Sunbeams Find You | 20. House of the Rising Sun  
21. The Sun Also Rises | 22. Shine a Light On | 23. Little Boys Know Nothing of Sunshine  
Some Still Seek Sunshine | 24. Under the Same Sun [today]_

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**"Under the Same Sun"  
Rachel & Quinn  
Sunshine Girls #24 **

Weeks had gone by since Russell Fabray had been thrown out of the home and family he'd made. But it didn't fall apart. It flourished, left in the hands of those left behind. Judy Fabray looked out for her younger daughter, tried to be there for her, the way she hadn't been there before. But she wasn't alone in that.

Seeing Rachel Berry as a regular staple in their home again, that was a relief to her, because she knew it meant if there was ever something her daughter was still unable to tell her, then at least it would still find an outlet; it did.

Quinn had seen her body change more with each passing week, each passing day. At the exception of a turn for baggy clothes, she doubted anyone would be unable to tell that she was expecting… Not that she still had the luxury… her secret was good and out by now. She didn't concern herself on this, not when there was this other secret…

There was no one out there who knew, no one but her and Puck, and if she didn't want people knowing, then keeping it that way was probably the best idea… It didn't look as sound, to consider adding a third name in the 'know' column, especially for all the cards she held in this, but Quinn trusted her. In these last few weeks already she had found no reason not to tell her; she found every reason to tell her…

The more time went on, with them reconnecting, it was as though they had found an old favorite sweater… It felt unfamiliar at first, but the more you wore it again, the more you remembered how it used to make you feel. More than that, you found new ways to appreciate it that you didn't know before. It got a new life, right out of the blue, and it was even more precious now than it was before. Of course Rachel wasn't a sweater; she was a person, and people came with more baggage than a piece of fabric. The sweater didn't feel any hurt for being left behind all these years, or for the way it was treated in all that time… It couldn't grasp the concept of 'moving on,' either… unlike them.

In this capacity, Rachel had also apparently taken it upon herself to make sure Quinn and the baby were healthy. She was watching her like a hawk, and Quinn had a sneaking suspicion Rachel had acquired the lot of the pregnancy section at the library or the bookstore, because for a girl raised by two men, she seemed to know a whole lot about all of it… It'd be scary and a big off-putting if she wasn't actually helping her. Still there were times where she would look to Rachel and give her a look, as though to say 'okay please dial it down now,' at which point the brunette would quietly bow her head and veer the topic away. If there were still some questions she had to ask though she always managed to find a way to get the answers.

"You don't think all this dancing around might be harmful to her though?" had asked as they left Glee practice that day.

"She's fine," Quinn insisted, only mildly paying attention to her as she considered something. Yes, this would be the day, the one where she told her the truth… It couldn't be there, at school, too many chances of someone overhearing something they weren't supposed to overhear. As luck would have it, there were a few things happening at once that gave her an excuse. "Speaking of babies, I know we said we'd work on that project for History together, but I told my sister I'd babysit Jamie this afternoon," she explained, speaking of her nephew, who was nearly one year old. "We could work on it there, if that's alright?" she suggested. Rachel had never met the boy, but from what Quinn had told her, he could be a bit of a handful… The thought of that did put doubt in her mind, but then thinking of leaving Quinn to handle him on her own didn't seem fair, when she could actually lend her help.

"Sounds good," she nodded, hoping she didn't sound panicked at all. They'd gathered their things and then they were off to Quinn's sister's. When Alice opened the door and saw Rachel at Quinn's side, she still had that twinkle of memories in her eyes; she remembered the Sunshine Girls, too. She had to hurry off, so not much was said before the girls were left on their own with sleeping Jamie, who didn't sleep for much longer. He woke, screeching his little lungs off, and Quinn went to get him. The boy was as blond as any Fabray would be, from what Rachel could see. He went on with his crying for a while, and Rachel was on the verge of pulling from whatever lullaby she knew, but finally Quinn had gotten him to calm down. "You're pretty good with him," Rachel told her.

"I've got him figured out," she promised, giving the boy a smile. He was still looking not quite at peace from his screaming match just moments before, but his eyes didn't leave Quinn… probably for the fact that she and Jamie's mother bore a striking resemblance. She sat with him, sitting him in her lap. As she watched them, Rachel came to understand something herself… Quinn didn't actually need her there. They had the assignment to work on, sure, but something in her gut told her there was more to this.

After establishing that Jamie did not take well to being put in a chair or a playpen, they had moved to the dining room table to work, alternating who had to hold the boy on their lap every few minutes. He had needed some time to accept Rachel, but as long as she hummed softly every so often, he stopped fussing about and just sat there, trying to reach for the pen in her hand. It had been Quinn who got him to sleep again, at which point she took him back to his crib. When she came back, they quickly finished the assignment. After that, Rachel's theory was shown to be right: there was more. Quinn looked briefly nervous, her mind somewhere else.

"Everything okay?" Rachel asked, and Quinn looked at her. She let out a breath.

"I need to tell you something," she started. "You can't tell anyone…"

"Of course," Rachel promised.

"I mean it, not anyone," she repeated, and Rachel sat up.

"I swear," she nodded. Quinn looked at her, long and hard… Would she still say that once she knew what it was that she had to say? "Look, whatever it is…" Rachel shook her head, seeing how much Quinn looked almost… terrified of what she was trying to say, and now she was starting to get concerned, too.

"It took me all this time to even get myself to say it, you know? I… I haven't told anyone, no one knows except me and…" she shook her head, feeling what she had not wanted to feel: tears, welling in her eyes. "It's about the baby," she started, and she held her hand up to indicate she wasn't saying there was anything wrong with her, for lack of the ability to form the words. "I lied about… one thing, one… one very important thing, I…" Rachel moved up to take one of her hands, then the other, still not sure what was going on that her. Quinn looked down, then back up. "Me and Finn, we never… We never…" she shook her head. Rachel frowned, not understanding what… Her jaw slacked a bit.

"Never…" Rachel repeated, and then, "So the baby's not…"

"No," Quinn shook her head. She wasn't looking Rachel in the eye, and she didn't know if the fact that she was still sitting there with her, that she hadn't let go of her hands was a good thing or not. Maybe she was in shock; with her own feelings for Finn, she could imagine that might be the case. There was no way this was going by without a hitch. When she'd looked back up, she found Rachel just staring back at her, like she'd actually been rendered speechless. "I don't know how I got here; it started… I wasn't trying to…" she started, insisting, but Rachel shook her head.

"I know," she slowly got function back, enough to add a cautious nod. "I'm not sure I know what to say, I mean I know it was before you and I went and started… remembering things, but I thought you and Finn were… oh!" Rachel stopped and sat up, connecting a whole track of dots in an instant. "Puck… It's Puck, isn't it?" she went and whispered, by reflex. Quinn didn't say it, but the look on her face was enough.

"You can't tell anyone," she repeated herself.

"You're not going to tell him?"Rachel asked, confused.

"I don't… I don't know," Quinn had to admit. "It's been so long now, he wouldn't… He wouldn't stay," she shook her head. "And Puck, I don't…" She paused, looking to Rachel. "I'm sorry, I'm putting this all on you, I…"

"No, it's okay," Rachel told her, though there was something uncertain in her eyes. "I-I'm glad you told me," she went on, showing a smile for her to see she was alright. Maybe that wouldn't be the same later, once she'd had the time to really process what she was told, but…

"Yeah, so am I," Quinn managed to return her smile. Soon Jamie would be wailing from his room, and the girls gathered him up and, with qualities still deep in them as Sunshine Girls, they sat with the boy, singing happy songs to either manage to cheer him up or put him back to sleep. Quinn felt better now. She still had no idea what would happen, but she had told Rachel the truth and the world hadn't fallen apart. They were still standing.

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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